cattle

plural noun

cat·​tle ˈka-tᵊl How to pronounce cattle (audio)
Synonyms of cattlenext
1
: domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use
specifically : bovine animals on a farm or ranch
2
: human beings especially en masse

Examples of cattle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Before Turner, cattle grazing, logging, and mining impacted portions of the property for decades. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Aug. 2026 There are other factors, too, on the supply side, including an outbreak of New World screwworm in Mexico that halted imports of live cattle from Mexico until recently. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 My maternal uncle had gone out that morning to cut grass for the cattle. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 Kansas and Missouri have two of the nation’s largest cattle populations, making agriculture another major industry in the area that is dealing with the uncertainty from the sudden changes in trade policy. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cattle

Word History

Etymology

Middle English catel, cadel "property (whether real or personal), goods, treasure, livestock, (in plural cateles) possessions," borrowed from Anglo-French katil "property, goods, wealth," borrowed from medieval French (dialects of Picardy and French Flanders) catel, going back to Medieval Latin capitāle "movable property, riches," (in Anglo-Saxon law texts) "head of cattle," noun derivative from neuter of capitālis "of the head, chief, principal" — more at capital entry 1

Note: Note that the spelling cattle is uncommon before the eighteenth century. Anglo-French katil is a variant of chatel—see chattel, which is a doublet of this word. Though the variant with [k] is rare in Anglo-French, catel is frequent and used almost interchangeably with chatel in Middle English. The sense "livestock," however, is only attached to catel, to judge from citations in the Middle English Dictionary. — Regarding the meaning "movable property, riches" of capitālis see note at capital entry 2.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cattle was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing cattle

Rhymes for cattle

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Browse Nearby Words

cattish
cattle
cattlebush
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Cite this Entry

“Cattle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cattle. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

cattle

noun
cat·​tle ˈkat-ᵊl How to pronounce cattle (audio)
plural cattle
: domestic four-footed animals held as property or raised for use
especially : bovine animals (as cows, bulls, or steers) kept on a farm or ranch

More from Merriam-Webster on cattle

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cattle

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cattle

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